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Important 2019 UPDATE:
A message from SOS-NC president
(POSTED 9/5/2019)
Wow! What a busy legislative season this has been for me
as President of Save Our Summers - NC. Without going into
too much detail, just know that for the past year, several
times a month, I have been communicating with (usually in
person) numerous members of the General Assembly, advocating
for parents, teachers, and students who want a more traditional
calendar to still remain a choice in North Carolina.
For fifteen years now, against massive opposition, Save Our
Summers - NC has tirelessly fought to keep the School Calendar
Law on the books. Prior to this law, school districts were
abusing their power to set start and end dates, causing hardships
for NC families. (www.saveoursummers.com/quickref.asp)
The law has changed, and offers much more flexibility, but
still sets parameters within which local districts can set
their own calendars. However, it is hanging by a thread. WE
NEED YOUR HELP IMMEDIATELY!
Why? Because the original supporters of Save Our Summers
- NC no longer have school-age children, and for the past
fifteen years, parents have taken for granted that traditional-calendar
schools will always be a choice. That is not the case. WE
NEED SUPPORTERS WHO WILL ACT NOW to visit, write, call, and/or
email their state leaders and let them know that they support
Save Our Summers - NC's efforts to keep this choice alive.
Unless these leaders hear from you this year, there's
a good chance that summers as you know them now will cease
to exist. See the side bar to the right to find out who you
need to contact.
Here is some vital information that SOS-NC advocates need
to know:
- Since there is no means of accountability for school calendars,
it was up to SOS-NC to ferret out and expose school districts
who decided to blatantly violate the School Calendar Law
for the 2019-2020 school year. Among those identified were:
Surry County (started 8/7, nineteen days earlier than allowed
by law for 2019-2020), Mount Airy (8/7), Elkin (8/7), Iredell-
Statesville (8/8), Lincoln County (8/12), Whiteville City
Schools (8/12), Columbus County (8/12), Yadkin (8/13)
IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST THIS VIOLATION OF STATE
LAW, CONTACT SAVE OUR SUMMERS - NC RIGHT AWAY BY EMAILING:
saveoursummers@gmail.com
- I reported these findings to individual Senate and House
members and their committees, as well as to policy advisors
for: top legislators, the Lieutenant Governor, and the NC
Superintendent of Public Instruction. Over and over I pushed
for any entity to stop these districts from breaking the
law while there was still time for them to change their
start date, but no one took action until it was too late.
- Finally, after much follow-up and perseverance on our
part, an attorney with the NC Department of Public Instruction
sent a letter to one of the offending systems (I was told
more than once that letters were sent to all guilty parties)
letting them know that they were in violation of state law.
Nothing happened, and there was no follow-up on the part
of DPI.
- In the meantime, Save Our Summers - NC had its attorney
contact the school districts who were set to start classes
early. Unfortunately, with no "teeth" in place
for enforcement, these school systems got away with breaking
the law.
- On the "good news" front: We never gave up,
and finally a bill was passed into law (SL2019-165) requiring
NC school districts to report their proposed calendars by
a specified date, and to be able to justify any deviation
from traditional school start and end dates as set forth
by law. Click here for exact wording.
Working hand-in-hand, we can ensure a future for those who
want - and need - a more traditional school calendar. If this
battle is lost, this option will likely be taken away, perhaps
permanently. Let's not let that happen!
Thank you for your support!
Louise Lee
President, Save Our Summers - NC
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